Archive for the ‘African Youth Summit’ Category

The Emerging Leaders Africa Conference

Welcome to my blog where you will find the right opportunity and information for all African youth. . .Young leaders in Ghana I encourage you to apply and attend this conference. The Emerging Leaders Africa Conference will take place in Accra – Ghana, 17th September 2014 at the Plaza Hotel on the Spintex Road. Contact: (+233) 500 294636 OR 0241 839469

Emerging Leaders Africa is a registered non-governmental organization in Ghana that seeks to empower the youth to rise up to the leadership challenge and help establish a new generation of professionals whose high idealism will be matched by their practical skills

The Emerging Leaders Conference is an initiative of Rev. Dr. Anthony Cudjoe; the CEO of the group and also the senior Pastor of the International Central Gospel Church, Sakumono who has a passion to raise leaders for the next generation. “The foundation for preparation is planning. We must plan for the future, so that by the time it comes we are ready for it”.

OIC International enlists support of government of Ghana for Youth Investment Summit: The road to economic growth, Accra, Ghana, May 16, 2013

WASHINGON, DC, USA (MARCH 19, 2013)— Recently, Crispian Kirk, President and CEO of Opportunities Industrialization Centers International (OIC International) met with His Excellency Mr. Daniel O. Agyekum, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States. The purpose of the meeting was to brief Ambassador Agyekum on OIC International’s Youth Investment Summit: The Road to Economic Growth. This one-day Summitwill take place at the La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana, on May 16, 2013. Government and business leaders as well as entrepreneurs, donors and community leaders will gather to examine the “how” for unlocking human potential in unemployed and underemployed youth throughout Africa. The Summit will also focus on the importance of training and investing in Africa’s youth to help the continent strengthen its local communities and reach its economic growth goals.

OIC International has had a presence in Ghana since 1971 through affiliate OIC Ghana. Through this affiliate, OIC provides training in vocational skills and offers counseling, job-placement, and follow-up services to disadvantaged, unskilled, and unemployed Ghanaian youth. Youth constitute approximately 37 percent of the total labor force, but make up approximately 60 percent of total unemployment. Youth in Africa hold great potential as drivers for economic growth through participation in labor markets. However, a large youth population that is not gainfully employed can also be a liability, further undermining growth prospects. This Summit will be an opportunity to discuss ways to strengthen youth and community empowerment, one of the 21st century challenges confronting the continent.

Stated Crispian Kirk, “Technical and vocational training of Africa’s youth will equip the private and public sectors with the skilled workforce needed to support their investments and enhance their operations. Training today’s youth in Africa is a key strategic component of development and economic growth policy. I am looking forward to working not only with Ambassador Agyekum and the Government of Ghana to ensure a successful and productive Summit” For more information on and to register for the Youth Investment Summit: The Road to Economic Growth, visit www.oici.org

It is a great opportunity to offer a synopsis of 2012 Model AU Summit Theme: “Boosting Intra-Africa trade through Youth Entrepreneurship.” Despite Africa’s lingering challenging, we as young people remain highly enthusiastic about boosting our trade through entrepreneurship. African Youth are the entrepreneurs of the future.

The question at the moment is: ‘What do youth of Africa know about being entrepreneurs and boosting Intra-Africa trade?’ Our constant curiosity about the world around us, hunger to pursue a dream, ability to create, willingness to take risks, capacity to think great thoughts and unbridled enthusiasm for national development add up to our uniqueness of being great entrepreneurs. My perspective of Africa trade connotes the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one nation to another by getting something valuable from the buyer, in the process benefit Africans and the international business communities.

At the 2012 Model AU Summit on 25th May 2012 in Accra, delegates are expected to make extensive research on the theme to contribute towards the final deceleration and communiqué for the summit. The objective is to make possible discussion between non-governmental organizations and governments on subjects from all over Africa concerning decisions on Intra-Africa Trade Through Youth Entrepreneurship and programs on African youth development.

The MAUS Commission is working towards an aim of focusing the summit on solutions to the various impediments that hamper intra-African trade. These impediments among others are inefficient transit regimes and border crossings procedures for goods, services and people; poor implementation of regional integration commitments. We shall prioritize solutions to the differences and uncertainty of having access to internal and external markets in Africa. Discussions on domestic agenda will be highly prioritized. Delegates and Officials are expected to make research extensively, finding new solutions and bringing onboard ideas by ensuring that African our Governments and the International community focus on fostering regional integration and boosting intra-regional trade in Africa. Subsequently, our focus is to find a way forward, making sure that African youth champion the harsh challenges of entrepreneurship and Intra-Africa trade.

Currently, the honorable President of the Republic of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills, at the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, on the theme: “Boosting Intra African Trade” said any attempts to initiate moves to boost trade within the Continent should first consider the youth and create opportunities for them to have gainful employment. He said the youth were the continent’s greatest resource and the welfare of the youth must be paramount to any trade mechanisms.

President Mills called on African leaders to ensure that trade initiatives were better planned and coordinated for greater success.

He said the discussion on boosting intra-African trade was timely and opportune, and Africa could not continue to sit on the sidelines and watch. The President said: “We have to take the giant steps that others have taken, to boost trade within our countries,” because it is fundamental to the growth and prosperity of the continent.

I am highly convinced that participants at the 2nd Model AU Summit in Ghana will show the world that Africa is the home of Africans, and that the youth of today are highly intelligent, innovative and productive. Members of their delegations are expected to act as Diplomats following the code of ethic at the summit. Again, I encourage accepted delegates and officials to put on a Pan-African Spirit. Contributions during simulations at the Summit must be done with enthusiasm, passion and confidence. The world will be watching and witnessing young men and women of Africa engaging themselves in great discussions that concerns generations.

I read recently in an article titled, Youth Unemployment: Challenges & Opportunities in Economic Development, that, ‘Almost half of Africa’s population is under 25; about 75% is under the age of 35. It is estimated that by 2050, Africa will account for 29% of all people aged 15 to 24. This is about 348 million of the total 1.2 billion persons globally. Young make up 37% of the working-age population in Africa, but 60% of the unemployed.’ Whatever the conditions are, greatness lies in the Youth of Africa. We must encourage ourselves to unleash our creativity by demanding governments to chose the right policies, right investments and making us a priority. They must build the right institutions and support the youth to engage in trade, IT and entrepreneurship.

Conclusively, officials and delegates must seek to find answer to the following questions at the end of the Model AU Summit: How do we break the barriers to trade in Africa? How do we promote trade amongst youth entrepreneurs? How do we get funds for business start -ups. What financial tools exist to help Business start –ups? What effective tools are available to promote trade in transport communication and Tourism? How do we use ICT particularly innovation to boost Entrepreneurship to promote trade? Can we suggest ways and means to promote Trade through ICT?

“The focus of youth and employment in Africa must be a priority for governments, involving young people in decision making processes and ensuring that the outcome of the World Bank report becomes a reality for African Youth.”

The political instability in Africa has been illustrated by series of rises in unemployment resulting from Civil wars, destruction of many industries, and a variety of consequent economic setback. For my country Liberia, much of the unemployment and underemployment has accompanied my migration from my home country seeking educational opportunities in Ghana.

In Ghana, the problem of youth unemployment and underemployment is a major developmental challenge. I have seen friends who have completed their undergraduate degree three years ago still in search of jobs today. In fact, many of the youths are constantly complaining, voicing to government and cooperate institutions to give them an employment opportunity. The situation in Ghana appears to be fractionalized from my perspective as a youth advocate. In Ghana unemployment arises because youth between the ages range of 15 and 35 seeking jobs do not find them immediately. They are on the outlook for work opportunities and are counted as unemployed. For this reason, there is unease between the demand for and supply of labor.

The brainstorming session on youth employment in Africa on April 20, 2012, in Ghana that was held by the World Bank in collaboration with African Gathering has proven to be highly educative, essential to offer solutions to youth employment in Africa, especially Ghana. At the brainstorming session we were being asked series of theoretical and logical questions, critical enough in opening a dialogue between participants. In fact, I was marveled by questions like, how creative can we get in getting our own jobs? How do we spot employment opportunities when it’s starring at you? Why aren’t we employed? Who is employed and who is not? How can we create more jobs? Who is making our dreams come true?

From the brainstorming session, I learned that the jobs are available in Ghana but are not enough. There are technical and vocational areas that need to be tackle addressing youth empowerment including skills, entrepreneurship, new discipline, Innovation and creativity, gender issues, financial burden and the

mindset of the youth. To some extent, the academic environment has not provided the right education for the youth that can match our skills to compete on the job market. The curriculum needs to be reviewed bringing onboard creativity and Invocation, information technology, liberal arts in teaching, career and counseling.

Although employment is a major challenge, we believe that the youth need a ‘One Stop Shop’: a resource centers that will provide career counseling, innovation and technical advice, resource, business database and information, mentoring, and information technological. Regarding Information Technological, there must be creation of IT or ICT centers, more ICT software and Institutions. Agriculture must be prioritized. The government is fully responsible for implementing and monitoring policies. They must listen to the voice of the youth by giving us the chance to peruse our selected careers without deciding for us. They must also encourage entrepreneurship and enforce career counseling.

Change must start in tertiary institutions. The youth must be encouraged, knowing that our talents are important and significant towards national development. We must follow our talents and passion at all times by seeking developmental opportunities. Furthermore, a risk taking environment should enable young people to take risks. Facilities and criteria that constitute an efficient employed business centers must be set.

According to the current National Youth policy of Ghana, employment creation remains a major priority in the country’s development agenda and it is the goal of Government to provide the youth with opportunities for employment and labour market information. In this connection, the policy aims at; building the capacity of the youth to discover wealth-creating opportunities in their backyards and environment; enabling the youth to have access to reliable and adequate labour market information; creating opportunities for young people to take advantage of available jobs; and training and preparing the youth for the global market.

The conclusion of the brainstorming session is of particular relevance for Ghana and Africa. We are positive that the sessions in Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo will result into a great content, providing recent analysis of the challenges to youth employment from the lack of implementation of government commitments in the regions. In particular, the focus of youth and employment in Africa must be a priority for governments, involving young people in decision making processes and ensuring that the outcome of the World Bank report becomes a reality for African Youth. We thank the World Bank fir creating a report on youth employment in Africa and identifying that the input from the continent’s youth is paramount. This decision reflects the reality of involving the youth to offer solutions to youth employment.

Joseph M D Johnson, DAFI Scholar, Liberian Youth Advocate, founder & CEO of the Youth Empowerment for Progress – YEP; highly involved in youth empowerment and African youth activities and is a certified AU Youth Volunteer – shortly studying at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration – GIMPA. Johnson is also multi-talented, an expert in planning and implementing Youth Projects and Programs that focus on Quality Education, Youth Participation, Good Governance, Employment and ICT.

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2012 – This month, the World Bank in collaboration with Africa Gathering will host a series of brainstorming sessions on youth employment in Africa. The sessions will be held in Ghana, Kenya and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the following dates:
Friday, April 20 – Accra, Ghana: Location: Koffi Annan Centre at 10 am
Tuesday, April 24 – Nairobi, Kenya
Friday, April 27 – Kinshasa, DRC
“We want to hear from Africa’s young people themselves about how we can do more to create good paying jobs,” said the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa Shanta Devarajan. “These sessions are vital to hear directly from them.”
The World Bank is creating a report on youth employment in Africa, where input from the continent’s youth is paramount. The brainstorming sessions will be held to collect real-time feedback, which will be reviewed and highlighted in the report. “Who better to offer solutions to youth employment than those who are most greatly impacted,” Devarajan said.
There are an estimated 7-10 million young people seeking employment every year in Africa. Even countries that are reducing poverty at a rapid rate, such as Ethiopia, have not solved the youth employment challenge. If Africa’s youth cannot find productive jobs, the continent will not only fail to sustain growth and poverty reduction, it risks periods of civil unrest—as experienced in the Middle East and North Africa recently—because the expectations of these young people, fueled by growth and globalization, will be unfulfilled.
Join the conversation on twitter: #Jobs4Africa
About Africa Gathering
Africa Gathering (AG) draws inspiration from the traditional, symbolic African Baobab tree the place where people can gather to share knowledge, exchange ideas and learn from each other. Under AG’s tree all speak openly, from activators to innovators, from artists to technologists. Under our tree we celebrate the change-makers and their work, we connect them to like-minded people, we share their passion for a positive Africa. Gathered under this tree, we bring African ideas and innovations to the rest of the world so that they can be recognised, used and celebrated. We provide an online and offline exchange forum that allows ordinary but amazingly talented African activators to champion their projects and concepts so that their achievements can be given exposure, gain momentum and attract interest from a global audience. For more information, please visit: http://www.africagathering.org
Contacts:
World Bank: Nicole Amarteifio, namarteifio@worldbank.org;
Africa Gathering: Mariéme Jamme, marieme@africagathering.org
Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbankafrica
Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/worldbankafrica
For our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/worldbank

The 1st Regional Education Summit on HIV / AIDS in Africa, RESHAA 2011 is the Continent of Africa’s meeting on the Education Sector Response to HIV / AIDS. It is scheduled to hold in Abuja Nigeria between November 6 – 11 and is hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education, through its HIV / AIDS Unit in partnership with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and other stakeholders. There will be several pre-summit activities between November 4-5, 2011.

Summit Programme

The Scientific Programme of the 1st Regional Education Summit on HIV/AIDS in Africa is aimed at sharing experiences and best practices on HIV/AIDS Education. This experience will lead to better informed and evidence based interventions in the education sector both in the near and distant future and in diverse situations and environments.

The Scientific Programme Committee will ensure that the content will be relevant to current and emerging issues such as HIV prevention in resource-limited settings, innovative approach to remove access barriers and promote service uptake. One of such approaches could be innovative implementation of Family Life and HIV Education (FLHE).

In addition to abstract-driven sessions, the Summit will offer daily plenary sessions featuring distinguished researchers, scientific leaders and experts. Other non–abstract-driven sessions include Special Sessions, Round Table Sessions, Skills Building Sessions, Community-Based presentations and Symposia in form of Satellite sessions, focusing on topical issues by key individuals and organizations.

ABSTRACT-DRIVEN SESSIONS

Abstract driven sessions will include track-specific and cross-track abstract-driven sessions. Cross-track sessions will offer multi-disciplinary discussions and different perspectives on activities carried out by individual and organizations on a given topic. These presentations are such that have never been presented in any conference, summit or fora.

There will be two types of Abstract-Driven sessions namely Oral and Poster Abstracts. Both sessions will be determined by the Abstract Review Team made up of experts who will review the Abstracts and give them the best form of presentation.

Oral Abstract Sessions

Oral Abstracts are Abstracts reviewed and accepted for Oral Presentations. Oral Abstract Sessions include speakers who will each deliver a presentation. Questions will be taken from the audience. The Oral Abstract session will be moderated by a Chair and a Co-Chair while a Rapportuer will document and report on the session. These sessions will take place after the Plenary sessions each day.

Poster Abstract Sessions

Abstracts accepted for Poster presentations will be exhibited during this Summit. The presenters will stand by their presentations to explain and give answers to questions from participants who will come around their stands. Oral Poster presentation Sessions will be scheduled daily at midday.

NON–ABSTRACT-DRIVEN SESSIONS

In addition to abstract-driven sessions, the Summit will offer non-abstract driven sessions which will address a variety of current viewpoints and issues. The format and focus of these sessions will vary.

Plenary Sessions

Plenary sessions will feature experts on HIV/AIDS Education, Family Life and HIV Education (FLHE), School Health etc. This session will speak to the track and sub-track for the day. Plenary Sessions will take place the first each and followed by break out sessions. All delegates are expected to participate throughout the duration of the Summit.

Special Sessions

Special sessions will feature presentations by highly visible and highly placed HIV/AIDS Ambassadors and policy makers. These sessions would be sponsored either by the Summit Secretariat or organizations. These sessions may be opened to all participants or selectively restricted. These sessions will be held after lunch each day through the summit.

Round Table Sessions

These are sessions that are either sponsored by organizations or by the Summit Secretariat and, are specifically targeted to select participants.

Skills Building Sessions

Skills Building Sessions are organized at no extra cost to provide orientation, offer vocational skills to individuals and strengthen the capacities of youth-led organizations. The sessions will run simultaneously with the Special and Round Table Sessions.

Community Outreach

The Community Outreach Sessions are organized to reach out to the communities. These sessions take place in the community village and may run parallel with the Special, Round Table and Skills Building Sessions.

Satellite Sessions

Satellite sessions are for organizations that come to showcase their activities and promote their products during the summit. These sessions hold after the Special and Round Table Sessions and they will be on a buy-in basis.

The Objective of the Summit is:

1. To create a platform for both students and stakeholders in the educational sector to interact on HIV related issues and address the impact on young people

2. To involve young people in dialogue through their active voices and active participation towards preventing new infection and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS among the in school youth.

3. To explore innovative strategies and its application like the use of ICT for HIV prevention within the school setting.

4. Increase the proportion of young people and peer educators by 40% who have appropriate knowledge of HIV&AIDS as well as right attitude, behavior and life building skills by the end of 2015.

SKILLS BUILDING SESSIONS

Skills Building Sessions are organized at no extra cost to provide orientation, offer vocational skills to individuals and strengthen the capacities of youth-led organizations. The sessions will run simultaneously with the Special and Round Table Sessions.

Topics for the Skills Building Sessions are generated from the theme and daily tracks of the Summit as follows:

The Skills Building submitter will be required to put up a summary of his/her presentation or presentations and send to programme@reshaa2011.org . The presentations will be reviewed by the Reviewers. Submitters of ACCEPTED presentations will be contacted. Also note that submitters of NOT ACCEPTED presentations will be contacted to notify them of the status of their presentations.

Deadline for submission Skills Building presentations is September 15, 2011

For its 2nd Annual Conference, AIMUN is partnering with the African Union to mark the African Youth Day with a Model African Union Conference. The conference will be held between November 1st – 4th at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The 2011 conference will simulate the African Union Structure as well as its rules and procedures closely. The conference will be the first continental level Model African Union.

While preparing for the 2011 AIMUN-AU conference, students develop leadership, research, writing, public speaking and problem solving skills as well as have to familiarize themselves with several AU documents, such as the African Youth Charter.

In addition, it provides students with the arena to put into practice theories and techniques learned in class; such as consensus building and conflict resolution, all of which they will use throughout their lives. Through debate, the conference will also aim to achieve the objective of Article 13 of the African Youth Charter, which is to “prepar[e] young people for responsible lives in free societies that promote peace, understanding, tolerance, dialogue, mutual respect and friendship among all nations and across all groupings of people.”

It will also enable students the opportunity to interact and network with students from different cultures and backgrounds as well as further Article 26 (l) of the African Youth Charter, to “Promote patriotism towards and unity and cohesion of Africa.”

AIMUN-AU 2011 Committees

The AIMUN-AU 2011 conference will follow the the legislative structure of the African Union and its committees as stipulated in the African Union charter.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is the legislative body of the African Union. The PAP exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers.Four committees of the Pan-African Parliament will be simulated. These are:

Our vision: neighborhoods that have died coming back to life, kids who love the smell of dirt, blocks with foreclosed homes becoming vibrant places, plates full of delicious healthy food at costs we can all afford, and neighbors who are friends.